National Endowment for the Humanities designates Project a “We the People” Initiative

Bethlehem, Pa., December 20, 2006— The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded Moravian College a $5,000 grant to complete a Preservation Assessment Survey of the Reeves Library Archives and Special Collections.

Virgilia Rawnsley, director of preservation services at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia, Pa., will be contracted to conduct an on-site survey of the collections beginning with interviews of the archivist, the library director, and members of the library’s Special Collections and Archives Committee (SPARC). She will then assess the general condition of the collections, organization, housing, security and storage environment. Additionally, she will assess the feasibility of reorganizing or renovating the special collections areas. The final written preservation needs assessment will make recommendations for long-term storage, access, preservation and management of the collection. This report, along with an insurance appraisal report (2005) and an architectural feasibility study will form the basis for a short- and long-range preservation plan for the Moravian Special Collections.

In addition to the grant award, the project has been designated a National Endowment for the Humanities “We the People” project and is being supported in part by the funds the agency has set aside for this special initiative. The goal of the “We the People” initiative is to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through the support of projects that explore significant events and themes in our nation’s history and culture and that advance knowledge of the principles that define America. I anticipate that your project will contribute significantly to this effort.

Reeves Library contains seating for 430 and current shelf space for 300,000 volumes with an ultimate capacity for 400,000 volumes as well as access to electronic resources, the Internet, electronic journals, and electronic databases. The library provides a variety of seating and study alternatives: individual carrels, study tables, group study rooms of varying size, and faculty research studies. PC workstations are also available.

Moravian College is a private, coeducational, selective liberal arts college located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Tracing its founding to 1742, it is recognized as America's sixth-oldest college. Visit the Web site at www.moravian.edu